Heating system.



PATENTED APR. 9, 1907.

L. MILLER. HEATING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 26. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Diff 3.

11-: NORRIS PETERS ca. wAsmucmN. n. c.

No. 849,744. PATENTED APR. 9., 1907.

W. L. MILLER.

HEATING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.25,1905.

2 SHEBTS-SHEE. 2-

(Ewen/tor? Mai/7W W 14i M WILLIAM L. MILLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

HEATING SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 9, 1907.

Application filed August 25,1905- Serial No. 275,706-

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WVILLIAM L. MILLER, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Heating Systems, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in heating systems, and is fully described and explained in this specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved device, showing certain of the parts diagrammatically. Fig. 2 is a section in the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of one of the heating-coils in one of the pits, and Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the vacuumregulating trap. Fig. 5 is a transverse section through one of the locomotive-pits on line 5 5 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, A are the pits of the roundhouse to be heated by my improved system. The side walls and one end wall of these pits are undercut, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, and within the hollows thus formed are coils of pipes B, which surround three sides of each of the pits and operate to heat the same, the locomotives which may be in position above the same, and the roundhouse in general. By means of this arrange ment, which I consider particularly desirable, it will be seen that the pits and locomotives are heated up in the first instance, so that the locomotives can be more readily worked upon. Furthermore, it will be seen that the pipes within the pit, while placed so as to give extremely efficient heating in the most desirable location, are behind the inner edge of the pit, so as to take up no useful space and also so as to be completely sheltered from accidental injury. The coils B are supplied from a steam-main C, which is connected by a pipe C with a suitable source of steam-supply D. In ordinary practice exhaust-steam will be used, but any other source will do equally well, and as a result I have shown the steam-producing mechanism only in a diagrammatic way. The coils B are connected at their opposite ends with exhaust-mains E, which are connected by pipes. E with the regulating-trap box F, which is in turn connected with a vacuumpump G. In this way the steam circulates from the source of supply through the steamcoils in the pits and thence back through the trap-box to the pump. The mains C and returns E run in a conduit II, just within the rear or larger end wall of the roundhouse. The construction of this conduit is clearly illustrated in Fig. 2, from which it will jbe seen that it has an open or grated top, so that the heat from the pipes reaches the interior of the roundhouse to as large an eX- tent as possible. In addition to the pipes of the heating system proper all the other steam and water pipes in the roundhouse are conducted through this conduit, so as to be out of the way and also to assist in the general heating of the plant. In addition to'the conduit at the rear of the roundhouse another conduit II is shown at the front or just inside the shorter curved wall of the structure. This conduit contains steampipes, and, if desired, a portion of the coils can be supplied with steam from. this conduit instead of the rear one. In Fig. 1 it will beseen that one of the pits, which has been lettered A, is supplied in this manner. The object of this second conduit is not only to heat the roundhouse, but to supply heat to the doors I, so as to keep them free from ice and snow in winter that they may be opened readily.

The interior arrangement of the regulating-trap is illustrated in Fig. l, and this will now be described.

The pipe E, heretofore illustrated, opens into the top of the trap-box F at one end, the opening of said pipe being separated from the main part of the box by a screenf. The pipe which connects the trap with the pump G is designated in the drawings by g, and this pipe is connected to the pipe E by a by-pass g, controlled by a valve 9 Ordinarily this valve is closed, and the flow into the pipe 9 takes place from a pipe 9 extend ing upward from the pipe {1 and connected with a water-valve 9 within the box F. The pipe g is also connected by a pipe 9 with a steam-valve f in the upper part of the trap-box F. Each of these valves t'. 6., the steam-valve and watervalveare made in the form of check-valves, which control the flow through the respective pipes. The steam-valvef is opened when the movable portion f thereof is moved downward and a valve 9 is opened when the movable portion 9 thereof is moved upward, and these two movable portions are connected with a pivoted red I, on one end of which is a float I. In the operation of this trap the IIC vapor and water from the heating'system runs into the trap and any heavy matter coming with the same will be stopped by the screen. This may be drawn off through a pipe entering the boX at its lower end and closed by a valve 9 As long as the waterlevel is low, the steam-valvef will be open and the steam will pass out to the pump, thus causing a regular flow of steam to the system. Presently, however, the level of the water will rise on account of the condensation of the steam. When the float I has arisen to a suflicient height, the steam-valve will be closed and simultaneously the watervalve will be opened and the vacuum-pump will carry 011' the water until the water-level falls sufliciently to close the water-valve. In this way the steam is drawn through the system constantly, and all accumulations of Water are withdrawn with the steam. The trap thus forms an automatic device for causing the pump to draw first water and then steam and air.

I realize that considerable variation is possible in the details of this construction without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I therefore do not intend to limit myself to the specific form herein shown and described.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent 1. The combination in a roundhouse having locomotive-pits, the side walls of which are undercut, of a source of steam-supply, an

open-topped conduit adjacent to one of the walls of the roundhouse, heating-coils within the locomotive-pits and lying within the undercut spaces in the side walls, a steammain lying in said open-topped conduit and connection ,..betweeniitheiisteam-main and the source of steam-supply and between the steam-main and the heating coils.

2. The combination in a roundhouse having locomotive-pits, the side walls of which are undercut, of a source of steam-supply, an open-topped conduit along the shorter curved wall of the roundhouse and adjacent to the doors therein, heating-coils within the locomotive-pits and lying in the undercut spaces formed in the side walls, a steam main lying in said open-topped conduit, whereby heat is supplied to the doors, to keep them free from ice and snow and to permit them to be readily opened and shut, and suitable connections between said steammain and the source of steam-supply and between said steam-main and said heatingcoils.

3. The combination in a roundhouse having locomotive-pits, the side walls of which are undercut, of a source of steam-supply, open-topped conduits along the two curved walls of the roundhouse, heating-coils within the locomotive-pits and contained in the undercut spaces of the side walls thereof, steam-mains lying within said open-topped conduits and connections between said steam-mains and the source of steam-supply and between said stean11nains and the heat ing-coils.

In witness whereof I have signed the above application for Letters Patent, at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, this 21st day of August, A. D. 1905.

WILLIAM L. MILLER.

itnesses A. J. I/VILDMAN, CHAS. O. SHERVEY. 

